The FBI cut off CAIR after the largest terrorism financing conviction in American history.
Now a Florida judge is protecting them from a governor trying to do what the FBI already did.
DeSantis just took it to the 11th Circuit and what his brief reveals about Walker is damning.
The Evidence Walker Refused to Weigh
CAIR was named an unindicted co-conspirator in the Holy Land Foundation case – the federal government's own designation, in its own court, in the biggest terrorism financing prosecution this country has ever run.
One of CAIR's Texas founding board members got 65 years in federal prison for materially supporting Hamas.
A CAIR communications staffer was sentenced to 20 years for conspiring to help al-Qaeda and the Taliban fight American soldiers in Afghanistan.
The FBI – under Barack Obama, not Donald Trump – formally suspended all contacts with CAIR after the convictions came in.
The FBI. Suspended. Contacts.
DeSantis put all of that evidence in front of Walker when he issued his executive order designating CAIR a foreign terrorist organization in December.
https://twitter.com/SenRickScott/status/2046907713225994526?s=20
Walker didn't weigh it.
According to DeSantis's 55-page brief filed April 20 with the 11th Circuit, the district court "never" evaluated the governor's evidence of CAIR's deep ties to terrorism – and had it done so, the court "would have been compelled to conclude" the executive order was justified.
That is the core of this appeal.
A Judge Who Keeps Picking Fights With Florida
Walker isn't a neutral arbiter here, and DeSantis isn't pretending otherwise.
The governor's legal team called Walker's order out for "gratuitous insults" and "outright hostility" – because that's what the order contained.
Walker wrote that "Florida chooses political posturing over the First Amendment."
That's not judicial reasoning.
That's an editorial.
Walker has a pattern here.
He's blocked Florida's social media age restrictions.
He's blocked Florida's ballot initiative rules.
He's become the go-to venue for anyone who wants to tie Florida's conservative governance in knots.
He was appointed by Obama.
That's not disqualifying – but it does explain why his rulings consistently fall in one direction when Florida conservatives and progressive advocacy groups end up in the same courtroom.
The state argued DeSantis was entitled to act because Florida has a legitimate interest in making sure public money never flows to groups with terrorism ties.
That's not a radical position.
That's basic governance.
This Fight Is Bigger Than One Courtroom
Texas Governor Greg Abbott made the same designation last November – declaring CAIR a foreign terrorist organization and transnational criminal organization, prohibiting the group and its associates from acquiring property in Texas.
Abbott cited the same Holy Land Foundation record.
The same FBI decision to cut ties. The same evidence Walker brushed past.
DeSantis has also signed new legislation – House Bill 1471 – giving the governor explicit statutory authority to make these designations going forward, effective July 1.
https://twitter.com/DangerousThinkg/status/2045839635427860501?s=20
What this really comes down to is whether a governor can act on the same evidence the FBI already acted on – or whether a single federal judge gets to pretend that evidence doesn't exist because he disapproves of the politician who cited it.
If Walker's reasoning holds, it means any Obama-appointed judge can look at terrorism evidence, decide he doesn't like who's using it, and call that the First Amendment.
That's not a precedent.
That's a blueprint for letting the left's favorite advocacy groups operate in America forever – shielded not by innocence, but by a black robe and a political agenda.
DeSantis is fighting to make sure that blueprint never gets stamped approved.
Sources:
- Stephany Matat, "DeSantis appeals judge's order on Muslim group 'terrorist' designation," USA Today Network – Florida, April 21, 2026.
- Florida Phoenix, "Federal judge blocks DeSantis executive order declaring CAIR a 'terrorist organization'," March 4, 2026.
- Congress.gov, H.R. 4097, "Designate CAIR as a Terrorist Organization Act," 119th Congress, June 2025.
- Florida Senate, HR 1209 Analysis, "Council on American-Islamic Relations," January 2024.
- Investigative Project on Terrorism, "Evil Exposed: Holy Land Trial Shows Charity's Hamas Ties," Investigative Project on Terrorism.
